CancelReport This Post

Please fill out the form below with your name, e-mail address and the reason(s) you wish to report this post.

 

Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

derekack

10th September 2021, 07:14
25 down. - How can ENS mean nuts? anybody got a clue? Is it short for enthusiasts?
1 of 7  -   Report This Post

malone

10th September 2021, 07:30
Derekack, Chambers gives 'an en, (printing)' as one definition of Nut. So Ens, Nuts works OK.
2 of 7  -   Report This Post

quisling

10th September 2021, 07:37
It’s a printing term, as Malone says. A nut is another name for an en, which is a space in printing. Equivalent to half an em, which is the width of the lower case letter “m” in 12 point. All a bit obscure these days, but in the days of hot metal in Fleet Street 50 years ago It was more commonplace.
3 of 7  -   Report This Post

jono

10th September 2021, 08:28
Mutton is the equivalent term for em. Mutton and nut were used in noisy print rooms where em and en sounded too similar, I read once.
4 of 7  -   Report This Post

derekack

10th September 2021, 12:18
thanks everyone thats so obscure, never heard of it.
5 of 7  -   Report This Post

rossim

10th September 2021, 14:49
One of my English teachers used to say M for mother and N for naughty to distinguish them.
She didn't know about Mike and November!
6 of 7  -   Report This Post

jono

10th September 2021, 15:08
As chance would have it, EM makes an appearance in the Guardian today
7 of 7  -   Report This Post